DANCE Woking staged a spectacular one-day festival for an appreciative audience in Jubilee Square in the town centre.

Encounters, a celebration of dance and its positive impact, brought together 80 dancers from nine dance groups. 

Alexandra Dance School opened the first community dance platform with a polished piece,  A Test of Time, followed by Westfield Primary School with their energetic street dance-style piece, a confident sports-inspired SYG Dance, who trained out of Eastwood Leisure Centre in Sheerwater and have represented Woking borough at Surrey Youth Games (hence their name), and The Park School, who have used their weekly dance club to get fit and have fun.

Michaela Cisarikove Dance Company closed the morning activities with Fish Out of Water, an engaging piece which explored themes of belonging, displacement and migrancy, and drew plenty of audience participation as they followed the dancers and helped them overcome bizarre and colourful obstacles.

The afternoon session included a community platform led by Beeja adults with an appealing Bollywood segment, followed by First Dance Studios with an entertaining show jazz number Take Me or Leave Me.

Beeja kids added a fun Bollywood piece, Cremona School of Dance followed with a modern jazz Proud Mary and, by now bathed in sunshine, Beeja adults performed another entertaining Bollywood number. 

Alexandra Dance School’s I Will Survive closed the community dance platform.

There was more maypole dancing, which had also featured prominently in the morning session, with 24 enthusiastic audience members led by Dance Woking’s Nicky Norton taking part, and a second performance by MCDC.

Sam McCaffrey, the chief executive and artistic director of Dance Woking, said: “I was really heartened to see such large numbers support the day as the clouds and weather forecast weren’t the best for an outdoor festival such as ours.

“We were mopping down the stage at the start of the day and by the afternoon taking cover from the sunshine!

“We estimated there were more than 1,000 people either watching, performing or taking part in the dance-led activities. 

“Dancing is such fun and no matter how old or young you are, it really is for everyone.

“As a charity we rely on funding to make events like this possible, with support coming from Sport England and Woking Borough Council.”

Dance Woking uses dance in all its various forms to bring communities together, to empower and inspire them through their Inspire programme undertaken in school and community settings.

For more details about how to get involved, visit www.dancewoking.com